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    Published : 2026-06-19
    Vol. 74 No. 4 (2026)

    In Deo faciemus virtutem. Artistic Manifestations of the Politicisation of the Cult of the Shroud of Turin by the House of Savoy

    Piotr Krasny

    https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8726-1200

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh26744.2

    Abstract

    The Dukes of Savoy, ruling a small duchy located between France and Spain, had to create a “soft power” that would protect their state against the attempts of their powerful neighbors. In 1453, they acquired the alleged burial shroud of Christ, which they began to present as a sign of God’s special blessing for their state and their dynasty, known as the House of Savoy. In order to convince as many Catholics as possible of the authenticity of the Shroud and to promote its devotion, they began to disseminate faithful copies of it, as well as significantly reduced graphic reproductions. They invited the greatest church distinguished representatives of the church hierarchy (i.a. Charles Borromeo, Alfonso Paleotti, Françis de Sales) to public expositions of this relic, organized after its transfer to Turin in 1578, documenting these ceremonies in engravings. They allowed political figures to view the Shroud directly, in order to gain their support, as well as important cultural figures (i.a. Giovanni Battista Marini), counting on the fact that they would repay the honour in their works, glorifying the House of Savoy. The rulers of this dynasty encouraged reverence for the Shroud, while at the same time limiting access to it for the common people, in order to demonstrate their agency. The importance of the House of Savoy as custodians of the Shroud of Turin was emphasized by the inclusion of the chapel of this relic, built by Guarino Guarini in the years 1668–1680, in the body of the ducal palace in Turin. The chapel was also connected to the cathedral, by means of an arcade above the main altar, but this was often covered up. Occasionally, staircases were opened, connecting the side naves of the cathedral with the place where the Shroud was kept. In order to maintain the cult of this relic among the common people, a substitute sanctuary was established for them in the 18th century — the church of Santissimo Sudario, managed by a special confraternity. A specific game of access to the Shroud was used in the political activities of the House of Savoy until the mid-20th century.

    Keywords:

    Shroud of Turin, Duchy of Savoy in the 16th–18th centuries, Savoyard art (16th–18th centuries), religious art after the Council of Trent



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    Roczniki Humanistyczne · ISSN 0035-7707 | eISSN 2544-5200 | DOI: 10.18290/rh
    © The Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin & The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

    Articles are licensed under a Creative Commons  Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)